Fire Fly or Lightning Bug

Question

Having grown up in Cleveland, Ohio, I call them lightning bugs. My wife, from Eastern Tennessee, calls them fire flies. Is there a website that shows any geographic variation in these terms? I remember years ago that there was a site that mapped the different terminology for soda/pop/coke.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Having grown up in Cleveland, Ohio, I call them lightning bugs. My wife, from Eastern Tennessee, calls them fire flies. ... variation in these terms? I remember years ago that there was a site that mapped the different terminology for soda/pop/coke.[/nq]
There are a lot of regional differences bucket vs. pail; faucet vs. spigot
are just two more examples.
GFH

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Having grown up in Cleveland, Ohio, I call them lightning bugs. My wife, from Eastern Tennessee, calls them fire flies. ... variation in these terms? I remember years ago that there was a site that mapped the different terminology for soda/pop/coke.[/nq]
http://dare.wisc.edu/?q=node/1
Look at the sample "100 entries" page. It shows the maps.

I don't belong to Dare but have, perhaps, found a way to subscribe for a Login ID. I will work on that, so I can do real searches and perhaps find your words localized. I think I grew up saying "lightning bugs", and I hear the neighbor kids saying the word, but at some point I learned they were called "fireflies". I moved from one small town to another of the same size only 100 miles distant, and that may have been when I started hearing the second word. But it was after my bug-catching age, so I can't say that for sure.
I did find a search window and tried "firefly" but that only went to the S index and the word appeared in two cited entries. However these were not linked to other places, and, while they did list some locations, they didn't appear to give the main usage for "firefly", but found "firefly" incidental to other entries.
I found in the Index, under U (for the Upper Midwest), and found "lutefisk" (chiefly in Wisconsin), and "kolacky" also Wisconsin. I know about "lutefisk", and think "kolacky" is what my Czech acquaintances know as "colace", pronounced "ko LAHTCH kee". Spelling 'kolacky' looks like a version of Polish. I don't know if that is the same dish, though.
Saw another entry, anti-eye-over as an exclamation. That is a version of the game's name, which I heard as a child. That or "Annie Eye Over/ Annie High Over".
Maybe I was in the F section (for firefly), where I saw an entry for "folk etymology". That led me on another interesting side track. I found that some people spell "Norske" as "Norski"*. I am not sure how genuine "Norske" is as an individual appellation for Norwegians (and other Scandinavian nationalities), but in Western Wisconsin there is a shrine/museum of Norwegian culture called Norskedalen.

*I mention this, mainly because your name sounds Polish, and "Polski" is a shorthand term used at times to refer to Poles. (I think it is less of a disparagement than "******".) No offense intended.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Having grown up in Cleveland, Ohio, I call them lightning bugs. My wife, from Eastern Tennessee, calls them fire flies. ... variation in these terms? I remember years ago that there was a site that mapped the different terminology for soda/pop/coke.[/nq]
In New Castle Pa, which is very close to Cleveland, to 1957, I called them fireflies. There were fewer occasions to talk abou them in Indianapolis but I used the same word. I heard "lightening bug" pretty early.

Posters should say where they live, and for which
area they are asking questions. I have lived in
Western Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis 10 years
Chicago 6 years
Brooklyn, NY 12 years
Baltimore 26 years

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Having grown up in Cleveland, Ohio, I call them lightning ... was a site that mapped the different terminology for soda/pop/coke.[/nq]
[nq:1]In New Castle Pa, which is very close to Cleveland, to 1957, I called them fireflies. There were fewer occasions to talk abou them in Indianapolis but I used the same word. I heard "lightening bug" pretty early.[/nq]
Growing up in Indianapolis I used and heard "lightning bugs" more frequently than "fire flies", but both terms were used.
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Having grown up in Cleveland, Ohio, I call them lightning ... was a site that mapped the different terminology for soda/pop/coke.[/nq]
[nq:1]In New Castle Pa, which is very close to Cleveland, to 1957, I called them fireflies.[/nq]
As also in my hometown of Warren, OH. We seem to be defining a geographic region here.

** DAVE HATUNEN (Email Removed) ** * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]In New Castle Pa, which is very close to Cleveland, to 1957, I called them fireflies.[/nq]
[nq:1]As also in my hometown of Warren, OH. We seem to be defining a geographic region here.[/nq]
My uncle lived in Warren, Ohio or Pennsylvania. He also lived in Sharon, Pa. I almost went there 5 years ago, but figured it would be hard to find any trace of him, since he lived in Columbus for 40 years after that. I still alwmost went, on my way from Youngstown to New Castle, but I followed my nose and ended up going south out of Youngstown. ..I recall... there was some museum in Youngstown I was looking for.

Posters should say where they live, and for which
area they are asking questions. I have lived in
Western Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis 10 years
Chicago 6 years
Brooklyn, NY 12 years
Baltimore 26 years

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Growing up in Indianapolis I used and heard "lightning bugs" more frequently than "fire flies", but both terms were used.[/nq]
Same here in the Hudson Valley. The same individuals use both terms interchangeably, the same as with "woodchuck" and "groundhog." Also note that "firefly" has been spelled as a single word for centuries.

¬R http://users.bestweb.net/~notr/zangelding.html "When there's a nuclear attack, that's when buckets are used." Tim Brown, IUSD

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Growing up in Indianapolis I used and heard "lightning bugs" more frequently than "fire flies", but both terms were used.[/nq]
[nq:1]Same here in the Hudson Valley. The same individuals use both terms interchangeably, the same as with "woodchuck" and "groundhog." Also note that "firefly" has been spelled as a single word for centuries.[/nq]
That's because in older, less prosperous times, most people could not afford extra characters, even spaces, to put between the two words.

Another regional difference that your words remind me of: In the midwest, holes in the road are called chuckholes. In NYC and probably Baltimore, they are called potholes. Apparently the city-folk got rid of all the woodchucks and don't know what their holes look like anymore.
[nq:1]¬R http://users.bestweb.net/~notr/zangelding.html "When there's a nuclear attack, that's when buckets are used." Tim Brown, IUSD[/nq]
Posters should say where they live, and for which
area they are asking questions. I have lived in
Western Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis 10 years
Chicago 6 years
Brooklyn, NY 12 years
Baltimore 26 years

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]As also in my hometown of Warren, OH. We seem to be defining a geographic region here.[/nq]
[nq:1]My uncle lived in Warren, Ohio or Pennsylvania. He also lived in Sharon, Pa. I almost went there 5 years ago, but figured it would be hard to find any trace of him, since he lived in Columbus for 40 years after that.[/nq]
I've been back the last two summers and I am sad to report that there is no longer a there there. The area has fallen into a sad state.
[nq:1]I still alwmost went, on my way from Youngstown to New Castle, but I followed my nose and ended up going south out of Youngstown. ..I recall... there was some museum in Youngstown I was looking for.[/nq]
Probably the Butler Art Museum.

** DAVE HATUNEN (Email Removed) ** * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Having grown up in Cleveland, Ohio, I call them lightning bugs. My wife, from Eastern Tennessee, calls them fire flies. ... variation in these terms? I remember years ago that there was a site that mapped the different terminology for soda/pop/coke.[/nq]
Growing up in New Orleans we called them "lightning bugs", but I was also familiar with "firefly".
Here's another one: we called dragonflies "mosquito hawks" in the belief that they ate mosquitoes (I have no idea if they do or don't). "Dragonfly" was a term found only in books.

John Varela
Trade NEWlamps for OLDlamps for email

Fire Fly or Lightning Bug

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